—: Moon Tonight :—
Moon tonight,
Beloved . . . . .
When twilight
Has gathered together
The ends
Of her soft robe
And the last bird-call
Has died.
Moon tonight—
Cool as a forgotten dream,
Dearer than lost twilights
Among trees where birds sing
No more.
Gwendolyn B. Bennett (1902-1981)
P: The Crisis (1923+), Opportunity (1923+), Gypsy (1927); A: Anthology of Magazine Verse (1927), Caroling Dusk (1927); short-stories, articles, illustrations, etc.
“Born in Giddings, Texas. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a school teacher.” Studied at “the Fine Arts Department of the Teachers' College at Columbia University, [and] the Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, New York.” (Caroling Dusk, 1927) Well-known artist, illustrator, poet, short-story writer, and editor; Bennett worked as the assistant editor on Opportunity, and while there wrote the column ‘The Ebony Flute’ (covering African American literary news). Later co-founded and co-edited the magazine Fire!!, with Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston, Aaron Douglas, John P. Davies, Richard Bruce Nugent, Lewis G Alexander, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes.
Illustration: Gwendolyn B. Bennet, published in The Messenger (1924).
The refrain of “moon tonight” coupled with the repetitions—particularly of the final images, “bird call has died” and “birds sing no more” (let’s call it a refraim)—weaves a spell through the words, producing two poems inside the one: the two faces of the moon. One side turned toward the sun, waxing and waning in the earth’s shadow to a regular rhythm. The other toward the dark thickness of the universe scattered with stars, singing as they turn . . .
The purple Of the flowers On the tree Beside the house, Glowing And gentle The oncoming dusk— Nestled in the Bloom of time— What magic Did the builders Of horizons Grace you with— O sky?
The final stanza of ‘Moon Tonight’ feels as if it was inspired by Japanese tanka, which is entirely possible given Bennett’s connections with Lewis Alexander, an accomplished English-language tanka and haiku poet, and Langston Hughes, who wrote numerous tanka and haiku inspired poems. Similarly, I based the final stanza of my response-poem on the tanka form.
I didn’t really mean to start writing response-poems, but I am enjoying it a lot, so I’m gonna keep doing it for the next little while. Please feel welcome to leave your own response-poems in the comments!
xoxo dw
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